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Labyrinth of Jareth Masquerade
Sourced from the original wikipedia page. The Labyrinth of Jareth Masquerade Ball, shortened to LOJ or simply known as the Labyrinth Masquerade Ball, is an annual masquerade ball and cosplay event in Los Angeles, California. The ball was first held in 1997. The Event Attendees wear elaborate costumes in the fantasy couture style, including a mask for most participants. Some attendees have worn mechanical wings.[3] Faerie and goblin costumes typically predominate,[4] although participants also dress in styles such assteampunk, Venetian and Gothic The name of the ball is a reference to the 1986 fantasy film Labyrinth, specifically the scene in which the protagonist, Sarah, finds herself in a masquerade ball. The other ballgoers in the scene wear strange and grotesque, but also elaborate and formal costumes and masks. The event's title namechecks Labyrinth's main antagonist, Jareth, the Goblin King. TravelPulse, a publication of TravAlianceMedia, characterized the ball in 2015 as one of five "must-see" masquerade balls around the world, along with the Carnival of Venice, the Surva International Festival of Masquerade in Pernik, Bulgaria, the Fancy Dress Festival of Ghana, and the Grand Masked Ball of Kamel Ouali held in France. History The ball was founded in 1997 by Shawn Strider and was directly inspired by the masquerade scene in Labyrinth as well as the Venetian tradition of masquerade balls.[1][8] The first ball was held in San Diego for an expected 50 people, with about 150 actual attendees. Although originally intended as a singular event, the success of the ball, which attracted guests from New York and Chicago, led to successive balls, becoming an annual tradition.[1][8] The Labyrinth of Jareth Masquerade Ball eventually moved to Los Angeles and expanded into a two-day event. Its current venue is the Millennium Biltmore Hotel, and as of 2017, the attendance number is 5,500.[2] In its first five years, the theme of the ball generally revolved around Labyrinth, imitating the ballroom of the masquerade scene as well as the film's characters and story. In subsequent years the ball expanded beyond the limits of the film to create new characters and situations, while developing its own mythology around the original story. Strider told NerdAlert in 2017, "We sort of created legends of things that have happened the story and things that are going forward. In our mythology there have always been goblins within the Labyrinth, and there's a legend of maybe a faerie prince or a goblin prince that left Labyrinth at some point due to a broken heart, muttering something about some girl named Sarah". Since 2003, the ball has developed a linear storyline which is built upon each year, with the story written by Strider and presented by Sypher Arts Studio, a team of sculptors, puppeteers, costumers, choreographers, performers and make-up artists. The narrative is performed at the ball across five stages, complete with elaborate sets and fantasy effects. Although a new story arc is introduced each year, the basis of the story revolves around the Court of Sypher, which has established itself inside the Labyrinth, a place where the flow of time no longer works properly. According to Strider, attendees are encouraged to "create their own characters and their own mythologies" to add to the "court of strange mythological creatures and characters." Beyond the principal inspirations of Labyrinth and Venetian masquerades, further influences of the ball have included Celtic faerie and goblin folklore and Norse mythology, along with fantasy works such as A Midsummer Night's Dream, The Lord of the Rings and The Dark Crystal.